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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23296879">She Stepped Back</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/bashfulglowfly/pseuds/bashfulglowfly'>bashfulglowfly</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Steps [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon (Anime &amp; Manga)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Gen, Queen Beryl ain't like she used to be, Things better change or else, Transformation</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-03-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 11:54:42</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,672</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23296879</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/bashfulglowfly/pseuds/bashfulglowfly</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>During the Golden Kingdom, her jealousy ushered her down a path to darkness, madness and the murder of worlds.  Now, outside an Artic cavern, she listens to the voice screaming within and takes a step back.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Steps [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1675402</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>11</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Shimizu Nanako stood at the entrance of the Artic cave that she’d been searching for.</p><p>The steam from her rapid breathing floated away in the gentle breeze while the frozen air seared her lungs.</p><p>She couldn’t bring herself to step inside.</p><p>
  <em>I’m terrified to go in there.</em>
</p><p>It wasn’t because she’d left the rest of her team sleeping in their tents while she woke at dawn to explore the cave on her own without distractions.  She explored caves on her own before.</p><p>But this one.  It made her blood run cold.</p><p>She could hear this voice screaming at her to not go away.  Run away.  Run.  Run.  Run.</p><p>
  <em>This cave frightens me!</em>
</p><p>She looked into the cave and in the depths, darkness seemed to…move.</p><p>Nanako took one step back.  Then another.</p><p>Then she stopped.</p><p>A tear ran down her face and froze before it reached her chin. <em>Why?  Why am I stopping?!</em></p><p>Her hands rose and began making arcane gestures while a chant fell from her lips.  She didn’t recognize the words but the screaming in her head stopped.</p><p>Terror gripped her heart when she realized that the darkness really was moving, and it was moving towards her.</p><p>Suddenly four lights sprang from the depths of the cave.</p><p>The darkness lunged.  Nanako could feel its rage.</p><p>The chant fell quicker from her lips and her hands moved faster.</p><p>The lights darted towards her and emerged from the cavern and flew into the sky and swiftly left her view.</p><p>She clenched her fists and with a final shout, yanked her arms to her sides.</p><p>The entrance of the cave collapsed in a thundering roar of dirt and stone sealing the darkness within.</p><p>Nanako collapsed to her knees and wept.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Nanako looked around and realized that she’d never seen this garden before in her life. </p><p>And she could have sworn that she’d been asleep in her bed in Tokyo.</p><p>Her expedition had been cancelled since the cavern they were supposed to explore had collapsed.  She never mentioned to her colleagues about what she’d seen and done.  She had told them that she’d heard a strange sound and went to investigate and got there just as the cave collapsed.  Fortunately, exploring the cavern hadn’t been needed for her to get her Ph.D.</p><p>She was extremely proud of what she had achieved but, now, she seriously wanted to know where the hell she was.</p><p>“You’re in Elysian.”</p><p>Nanako’s shriek startled birds from the trees.</p><p>She spun around and stared wide-eyed at a boy with a golden horn on his forehead.</p><p>The boy’s face didn’t change from the polite smile but there was a twinkle in his eyes.  “I’m sorry for scaring you.”  He bowed to her.  “I am Helios, priest and Guardian of Elysian.”</p><p>“Elysian?  Where…what’s that?”</p><p>“The where is…difficult to explain.  The best I can do is that it’s in its own dimension on the edge of your world, waiting for its time to come again.”  Helios smiled “And the what is…probably just as difficult but it’s a place of power for the Rulers of Earth as well as a few others.”</p><p>“Okay…”</p><p>Helios grinned “I know.  It made my head hurt too when it was first explained to me.”  He held out his hand.  “Will you walk with me?”</p><p>Nanako reached out and took his hand and realized that she wasn’t wearing the yoga pants and tank top that she’d gone to bed with.  She was now wearing a sleeveless green gown similar to those worn in ancient Greek and Roman art.  There was a wide brown sash around her waist.  Her feet were bare.  She wriggled her toes and she could feel…something.  She couldn’t put her finger on it, but she wanted to bend down and bury her fingers into the rich brown soil.  She wanted to gather the flowers to her.  She felt the trees begin to whisper their secrets to her</p><p>She began to breath hard.</p><p>Then she felt a pinch on her hand.</p><p>That broke her away from the overwhelming sensations.  She looked down at the boy standing next to her.  He ran his fingers across her hand and took away the sting.  “Well, that proves that you are meant to be here.  And what you’re going to become.  I’ll show you how to control it.”</p><p>“Control <em>what</em>?  I don’t understand?!  What’s going on.”</p><p>“Easy, Nanako.  Come sit.”</p><p>Numbly.  Blindly she followed him to a white gazebo covered in red roses.  She sat down and breathed in the almost overwhelming scents but somehow, they soothed her.</p><p>Helios sat down next to her, still holding her hand.  “Nanako, I’m so sorry.”</p><p>“Sorry?  What are you sorry?”</p><p>Then he touched her forehead.</p><p>And she remembered.</p><p>Everything.  Every horrible thought.  Every horrible, disgusting deed.</p><p>Nanako came back and found herself on the floor of the gazebo weeping against Helios’ knees.  He cupped her head.  “I’m so sorry but it had to be done.”</p><p>Nanako brushed the tears away but more kept coming.  “I was so close to being…<em>her</em>…again.  Oh, Blessed Gaia, thank you for saving me!”  She lurched to her feet and lunged for the gazebo’s railing and vomited into the plants below.  A glass of water was placed before her.  She rinsed her mouth out and spit onto the ground.  Then she carefully drank down the rest of the contents.</p><p>She sat back down, and Helios poured her a cup of tea from a set that Nanako didn’t recall being there before.  She didn’t remember seeing the table either.</p><p>Helios smiled as he sipped from his own cup.  “There are some other things I must tell you.”  He sighed.  “Your mother, on her deathbed, made your father promise that he would pledge you to the Priestesses of Gaia.”</p><p>Nanako blinked as she searched ancient memories.  “Really?  I don’t remember him saying anything to me about it.”</p><p>“No.  He broke his promise…which started you on the wrong path.”</p><p>Nanako rubbed her forehead.  “He broke a deathbed promise.  The Gods disapproved of that sort of thing.”</p><p>“Yes.”</p><p>She sighed.  “Father was…greedy.  He always wanted more.  And a daughter was a valuable tool to have.”</p><p>“Yes.”</p><p>“He told me things.  Said so many things to me.  I was beautiful.  I knew I was.  And I had boys and men of all sorts panting after me.  Sons of other merchants, sons of guild masters even minor noblemen.  But father told me that I was better than that.  That I was able to achieve much more.”</p><p>“I think your father was already being used by Metallia at that time.  He prepared you for her, in a way.”</p><p>Nanako looked at Helios.  “And if he had done as he promised, I would have met Endymion as a novice of Gaia…”</p><p>“Novice of Gaia with great potential.” Interrupted Helios.</p><p>“Novice of Gaia with great potential instead of a merchant’s daughter with delusions of grandeur.  Damn you, father.” She whispered.</p><p>“Well, he was one of the first ones you sacrificed to Metallia, so…”</p><p>“Oh, that makes me so much happier to know.” Her voice was very dry.</p><p>Helios chuckled. </p><p>“And as a novice I would have either not wanted Endymion because I would have known he was something I could never get or that I had something that was so much more important than a mortal marriage.”</p><p>“Yes.”</p><p>“So many lives ruined because one man broke a promise.”  She placed her cup down on the table and looked at Helios.  “What now?”</p><p>“Gaia loves you still.  You have much to learn from her, but you will achieve something…wonderful.”  He set down his own cup.  “Your path may not be easy.  I don’t know.  But there is a starting point.  Remember those four lights that were in the cavern?”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“I didn’t expect this…”  Kunzite’s voice was very dry.</p><p>“Put them down.  Now.  Please.” Begged Nanako.</p><p>All four of the Shitennou had been captured and bound in the branches of a willow tree after Kunzite took one look at her and had wrapped his hands around her neck and began strangling her.</p><p>When she had contacted them and asked them to meet her at a local park, she had expected a strong reaction but being choked to death hadn’t been one of the reactions she’d imagined.</p><p>She could feel the refusal of the tree.</p><p>Nanako placed her hand on its trunk.  “He had a reason.  Put them down.”  She could feel the willow tree go into a sulk, but it slowly lowered three of the Shitennou to the ground.  She felt the tree’s spiteful glee when it released Kunzite from 2 meters up.</p><p>She winced as he hit the ground with a decided <em>thump</em>. </p><p>Kunzite rose to his feet.  “What are you?”  He took a step forward and went to his knees.  “What the hell?”</p><p>Jadeite was nearly doubled over with laughter.  “Oh, Goddess!  I saw the tree tie your laces together.  That’s priceless!”</p><p>Nephrite rolled his eyes and helped Kunzite to his feet.  Zoisite knelt and fixed Kunzite’s laces.  Jadeite continued laughing.  “Do you know how many times I tried to do that when we were children?”</p><p>It was obvious that the memories suddenly came back to Kunzite and he muttered something that sounded very similar to “You haven’t changed, you shit.” Or at least that’s what it sounded like to Nanako.</p><p>Zoisite rolled his eyes and huffed while Nephrite snorted, and a smile graced his lips.  “You weren’t the only one.  I think the only one who didn’t try was Zoi.”</p><p>“Goody-two-shoes.”</p><p>“Fuck you, Jade!”</p><p>Before there were anymore…juvenile…words exchanged and her headache got worse, Nanako spoke up.  “All right, stop!”  Or I’ll have the tree bind you again.”</p><p>The four men looked warily at the tree whose branches moved against the soft breeze that was running through the park.</p><p>“My name is Shimizu Nanako.  I am a priestess of Gaia.”</p><p>“The High Priestess.” Was the firm reply from Nephrite.</p><p>Nanako hesitated.</p><p>Nephrite waved a hand.  “Yes, you may be the only one <em>now,</em> but I feel it.  You <em>are</em> the High Priestess.” Said the Seer.</p><p>“Are you sure?” asked Kunzite</p><p>“Yeah.  Very sure.” Nephrite’s tone of absolute belief was rock solid.  “So, that begs the question:  how did you turn into Queen Beryl in the first place.”</p><p>The four men looked at Nanako.</p><p>She sighed.  “We’re going to need alcohol.”</p><p>8888888</p><p>Nephrite handed the glasses around the table.  “Beer for the adults and soda for the infants.”</p><p>Zoisite and Jadeite promptly made rude gestures.</p><p>Kunzite spoke.  “I think introductions are in order.  I’m Ishida Kazuya.  I work for the government.  I manage project managers.“</p><p>“Takai Nobuyuki.” Said Nephrite. “I’m an astronomer.  I’m working on a Mars project.”</p><p>Jadeite smiled “Yamamoto Jun.  University student working my way to law school.”</p><p>“Sakurazuka Soichiro.” Zoisite spoke with a nod.  “High School student.  Third year.  My goal is to become a doctor.”</p><p>The four men looked at Nanako.  “Shimizu Nanako.  Teacher at Mugen Academy.”</p><p>“Swanky.” Said Jun.  “How’d you get to work there?”</p><p>Nanako bit her lip.  “I…saved the life of Professor Tomoe’s daughter.  I was still at University at the time and my professor took group of us to Professor Tomoe’s lab to see an experiment he was conducting.  There were a lot of people there and I remember the Professor’s little girl up at the front of the room, looking through the window into the experiment chamber.  I don’t remember much but others told me that I began shouting something about the experiment.  I ran to the front, grabbed the Professor’s daughter and was running to the back of the room.  Whatever it was that I was yelling, the Professor understood.  They were half-way through the shutdown when there was an explosion.  Fortunately, the window between the two rooms only cracked instead of shattering.”</p><p>Nobuyuki stared at her with wide eyes.  “Gaia helped you.”</p><p>“No…”</p><p>He nodded decisively.  “Yes, She did.  Trust me.”</p><p>Nanako blinked for a moment then stared off into space.  “Oh, it makes so much sense now.”</p><p>The three men waited, then Kazuya spoke.  “You were going to tell us how you became Queen Beryl.”</p><p>“It all started with a promise that my father, Beryl’s father, didn’t keep.”  Nanako took a deep breath and started talking.  She spoke of what had happened to her in the Artic and the meeting she had with Helios.</p><p>“So, the four lights you saw were our souls?” Soichiro was clearly confused.</p><p>“No, they were…a part of you that was missing.  Trapped away.” Said Nanako.</p><p>Nobuyuki looked thoughtful.  “I always thought there was something missing in my life.”</p><p>Kazuya nodded.  “So, those lights were the Shitennou parts of us.”</p><p>“Yes.”</p><p>Jun thought for a moment, then shrugged.  “Okay, so we’re back to being Shitennou.  Now what?”</p><p>“We have to contact Endymion.” Nanako paused for a moment.  “He’s my nephew in this life.”</p><p>“If he’s your nephew, why do we need to ‘contact’ him?” asked Kazuya.</p><p>“Because I’ve never met him.” She took a deep drink of her beer.  “It’s seems that my fate is to have fathers that are…less than optimal.  I never knew the whole story.  No one in my family would ever talk about it.  I learned this from Helios.  My sister, Mamoru’s mother, was much older than I.  She fell in love with a young man she met at University.  My father didn’t approve because he didn’t come from the right type of background.  Father wanted her to marry someone else and had even made arrangements for her to do so.”</p><p>“Wait, your father was going to make your sister marry someone and she didn’t want to?” blurted Jun.</p><p>“Yep.”  Nanako took another drink.  “Had the wedding set up, guests invited, groom waiting, and the driver Father sent to pick my sister up from college came back alone.  My sister wasn’t in the car.</p><p>“Needless to say, my father was angry because he had to explain to the other family why my sister wasn’t there.  And that’s when the other family realized that my sister had NOT accepted their son after the omiai.  That my father had lied and said that she did.”</p><p>“Ouch.  I’m guessing that cost your father a lot.” Said Nobuyuki.</p><p>“In more ways than one.” Replied Nanako.  “And it came out later that was the weekend my sister eloped with her college sweetheart.  After that, she was disowned, and her name was never spoken again in the house.”</p><p>“Whew…old school.” Murmured Jun.</p><p>“Yeah, well, it didn’t help.  People felt that since he obviously had no control over his household, not to mention the fact that he’d lied, that he was not to be trusted.”  Nanako smiled wanly.  “We went from having a rather nice house that we owned to renting a small apartment.  I left as soon as I could and paid my own way through college.”</p><p>“Good for you.” Said Soichiro.</p><p>“Thanks.  Now, do you have any suggestions as to how I should contact Mamoru?”</p><p>“Do…we have to?” asked Kazuya.  “I’m assuming that you want to contact him because he’s your nephew but also because he’s the Prince of Earth.”</p><p>“Yes.” Said Nanako.  “Something is coming.  Something that will destroy Life as we know it.”</p><p>“Climate change?” Jun was clearly skeptical.</p><p>Nanako smile wryly.  “That the glaciers are going to disappear, and cities will flood, blah blah blah.  No.  Quite the opposite from what I’m understanding.  So, we’ll need the Prince of Earth and the Sailor Senshi.”</p><p>The four men froze. </p><p>“The Senshi.” Nobuyuki whispered.</p><p>Nanako nodded.  “Venus will be awakened soon.  She will be the Leader of the Inner Senshi, so she has to remember and re-learn her role.”</p><p>“And the others?” asked Soichiro.</p><p>“Later.  But they will be awakened.”</p><p>“Will they learn about us?  Or Endymion?”</p><p>“That’s another thing, amongst many we’ll need to figure out.”</p><p>Kazuya ran a hand through his hair.  Something, in the past, he only did when he was very stressed.  “We’re going to have to start writing things down and make plans.”</p><p>The others agreed.  “But we can’t get tied down to just one idea,” cautioned Nobuyuki.  “We’re dealing with a lot of variables including five girls that are…how old?” he asked Nanako.</p><p>“At the moment, they’re thirteen…” she grinned at the looks of horror.  “It’s okay, ages won’t matter when you live hundreds of years.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Nanako was surprised how easy it was to meet Mamoru and to explain everything from his parents to his being Prince Endymion and her past as Queen Beryl.</p><p>She suspected that Helios may have had a hand in Mamoru’s acquiescence.</p><p>Even having the Shitennou back in his life was treated with calm acceptance…after a knock-down, drag-out brawl between the five young men.</p><p>Her long-held theory was that boys were just plain weird no matter what age they were was confirmed.</p><p>And they were learning things about themselves rather quickly.  All of them were regaining their powers and learning about new ones at an exponential rate.  Nanako wasn’t sure if they were receiving assistance from Gaia, the Moon or the Gods but things were moving fast.  She was confident that when she reached the height of her powers, she would be able to make things grow simply by walking bare footed across the ground.</p><p>One discovery that startled all of them was that two of the students at Mugen were Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune.  They had woken into their powers without any assistance that the two knew about.  And the two Senshi informed her that they were fairly certain that Professor Tomoe’s daughter, Hotaru, whom Nanako had rescued a few years before, would become Sailor Saturn.</p><p>If they had contact with Pluto, they weren’t talking.</p><p>Nanako and the five men would meet in person every few days to discuss things especially the training program they’d devised for the now awakened Inner Senshi.  The meetings usually occurred after one of the battles…</p><p>“…which was a fucking disaster.”  Scowled Jadeite.</p><p>“Well, it wasn’t quite that bad.” Murmured Endymion.</p><p>Nephrite snorted.  “Yeah, it was.”</p><p>“Sailor Moon is improving.” Replied Endymion.</p><p>“Yeah, after you say something to bolster her courage.” Nephrite rebutted.</p><p>It had come as a bit of surprise that Sailor Moon was Serenity, Princess of the Moon.  It had been Endymion who knew that tidbit of information.  He’d remembered that Serenity had told him that she should have been Sailor Moon during the Silver Millennium, but she didn’t like to fight so her mother had agreed that she didn’t have to train as a Senshi.</p><p>Kunzite sighed.  “I’m disappointed in Venus, quite frankly.  She’s hiding behind this dippy boy crazy persona and she’s failing to do her duty.”</p><p>Nanako hesitated for a moment then spoke.  “They can be replaced.  Not Serenity.  But the other four.”</p><p>Five looks of absolute shock turned in her direction.</p><p>Endymion would be the first to speak.  “How do you know this?”</p><p>“It’s hard to explain but I do.  Exactly how, that I don’t know but I’m sure I’ll be told how if it’s necessary.  There are four other girls who would be able to take their places and…Serenity, and the rest of us, would never remember.”</p><p>“Goddess…” breathed Nephrite.</p><p>Nanako nodded.  “But I want to use that as an absolute last resort.  But I will tell you that Uranus and Neptune are less than happy about the way the Inners are behaving.  Uranus is pretty vocal about it but Neptune…she’s the one to watch and I think she’s very close to squashing the four like bugs.”</p><p>“Is there anything we can do?” ask Zoisite.</p><p>“Yes.  I have an idea.”</p><p>888888</p><p>Nanako was in her classroom gathering up test booklets and the rest of her belongings to go home when movement at the door caught her eye.</p><p>A young blonde girl in a uniform that clearly was not one of Mugen’s slipped into the room.</p><p>Nanako placed everything back on the desk and leaned against it.  “May I help you?” She was pleased with the cool tone of her voice.</p><p>The blond girl stared back at her for a moment then flung a hand into the air and shouted, “VENUS POWER MAKE-UP!”</p><p>Nanako waited and when Sailor Venus was finished transforming, she spoke.  “You are taking far too long to transform.  It’s leaving you vulnerable to attacks from your enemies.”</p><p>Venus’ eyes bulged and her mouth opened and closed a few times before she managed to choke out “Who <em>are</em> you?”</p><p>“Shimizu Nanako, Ph.D. of Archelogy or you may call me Nanako, High Priestess of Gaia.”</p><p>Venus stared then blurted out “I had a dream.”</p><p>“I know.”</p><p>“It was horrible!”</p><p>“It was meant to be.”</p><p>“You sent it?!”</p><p>“Yes.”</p><p>“<em>WHY?!</em>” was the wail.</p><p>Nanako straightened to her full height and allowed her own powers to show.  “Why do you think, Sailor Venus?  You are failing your princess!”</p><p>Tears ran down Venus’ cheeks.  “That could happen?  You’d do that?  To us?”</p><p>“If you don’t do what you’re supposed and make the other three do what they need to do, then, yes.  I will relieve you of your powers and give them to the others.”</p><p>“They really exist?”</p><p>“Yes.”</p><p>“Oh, Blessed Selene…” The color drained from Venus’ face.  She swallowed.  “How long do I have?”</p><p>“One month.”</p><p>Nanako could see the tremors running through the younger girl’s body and waited.</p><p>Venus’ bowed her head.  “I understand.  I’ll fix things.”</p><p>“Good.”</p><p>Venus turned and fled the room.  Her transformation fading away as she ran.</p><p>Nanako released her powers, slumped against her desk and wiped away her own tears.</p><p>888888</p><p>The meeting between the High Priestess of Gaia and Sailor Venus was a turning point.  Not just the Senshi but for everyone on Earth.</p><p>The Great Freeze and Sleep still occurred but The Prince of Earth and the Princess of the Moon and their entourages emerged from that strong and powerful.</p><p>And they led the Solar System into a new Age.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>If you want to understand what Venus saw in her dream, you might want to read my two stories " Things aren't always what they seem" and "This is the way things should be" which are collectively called "Punishment and Reward".</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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